


Talk To Me

by Starsfordreams



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce is oblivious, M/M, Not Beta Read, We Die Like Men, but only like mildly, but two different brands of idiot, clark gets drunk, clark is pinning, idiots to lovers, lois is a supportive but exasperated best friend, they're both idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23366914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starsfordreams/pseuds/Starsfordreams
Summary: What do you do when your crush is sending you too many mixed signals?  Clark can't tell what is going on with Bruce.  One minute, he's the playboy billionaire who can't stop flirting to save his life and the next he's the frigid, stoic bat who won't talk to anyone.  Someone definitely has their signals mixed, Clark just can't tell who.
Relationships: Clark Kent & Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, SuperBat - Relationship
Comments: 20
Kudos: 183





	1. Mixed Signals

Clark stared at the bottle before him. Earth alcohol had never really worked on him, but he had been gifted a bottle of some alien booze by Kara and now seemed like the perfect time to try it out. He was lost, confused, and really needed to get out of his head. As he poured himself a glass, Clark thought back over the events that had brought him here. 

He and Bruce had always been… well, maybe not good friends, but always at least friends. But recently things on Bruce’s side had changed a bit. Take the incident from a month ago, Bruce had been in Metropolis on business and had gotten kidnapped. The villain was fairly new and not well known, which was the only reason he was able to actually get close enough to the paranoid billionaire. Clark had thankfully been close by, and was able to swoop in quickly. The villain put up a bit of a fight, but nothing Clark couldn’t handle. He would have won faster, though, if Bruce hadn’t been off to the side making flirtatious comments the entire time. It wasn’t like Clark had never dealt with saving people who were interested like that, and he knew about Bruce’s public personality (who didn’t?), but this was Bruce, who knew exactly who he was talking to. What was worse, when Clark dropped Bruce off on top of his hotel, with no other people around, he thanked Clark then said, “You should come to Gotham, sometime, Mr. Superman. I promise to show you a real good time.” Before Clark had really processed the sentence, Bruce had already disappeared down the stairs. It wasn’t that Clark hadn’t noticed how handsome Bruce was, quite the opposite actually, but Bruce was his friend. They didn’t think of each other that way, and the whole playboy act was just that, wasn’t it? Clark didn’t know what to think of Bruce’s parting remarks and had prevented himself from dwelling on them too long in case he was reading too far into things.

And then there was the interview assignment from a week ago. Bruce, never one to be a fan of nosy journalists or the media, had released an official statement saying he would no longer be accepting interviews or talk show invitations from anyone but the Daily Planet. Or more specifically, one Daily Planet reporter, Mr. Clark Kent. Which was odd, considering that the Planet was mainly a Metropolis based company. While not totally surprising to most, as the Gotham media outlets had a tendency to try and slander Bruce in the press, Clark was suddenly shoved into the spotlight in Gotham, accused by their press of trying to steal their stories. Clark had no idea how to even begin to deal with all of this, and then Perry White had ordered him to go interview Bruce as a result. “If Wayne wants to only talk to you, go see what he has to say,” were Clark’s only instructions before getting sent to Gotham to do a television interview, something Clark barely ever did, and never did alone. Apparently, Bruce had been expecting this, as there was a car waiting outside Clark’s apartment to take him to a five-star hotel Bruce had booked for him. 

The actual interview was even more confusing. Clark and the camera man had shown up to Wayne manor early to get everything set up. Alfred had answered the door, as usual, and led both of them to a room with chairs set up for the interview. The cameraman quickly got to work, getting all the equipment set up, while Clark went over his notes. Just as they were finishing getting the camera ready, Bruce finally walked in. He was wearing a pair of perfectly tailored, black skinny jeans, and a very nice silk shirt that was unbuttoned to show of his nicely muscled chest. Clark looked up, and had to immediately look back at his notes to avoid blushing. It was like Bruce was trying to throw him off. They both got miced up, then the interview began.

“So, Mr. Wayne—” Clark began.

“Please, call me Brucie,” Bruce said with a wink. Clark coughed and looked down at his notes, again. He really needed to find a new place to look.

“Mr. Wayne,” Clark pressed forward. Bruce, apparently upset that Clark wasn’t willing to play along, pouted. Honest to god, puppy dog eyes, lip out, pouted. Dick would be proud. “You recently released a statement refusing contact with any media outlets besides the Daily Planet. What led you to this decision?”

“Well, if you’ll remember, Mr. Kent, I refused interviews with anyone but you.”

“Um, yes. Are you a fan of my work?”

“Maybe I just like what I see.” Clark blushed hard and started shuffling his notes, just to have something to do. The rest of the interview had continued along a similar line. Perry had chewed him out for having nothing of substance to air, but there was really nothing he could do as Bruce had refused to actually take any of the questions he had posed seriously. There was also now an office rumor that Bruce was actively trying to win Clark over, thanks to the cameraman that had been assigned to the interview and Bruce handing Clark his personal cell phone number with another wink and a request to call him sometime. Clark sighed and put his glass down, now empty. While these events seemed to add up to Bruce being interested, there was also the issue of the man’s caped identity.

Batman was notorious for being cold and unapproachable, and apparently Superman was not exempt from the same treatment. Clark had tried multiple times to catch Bruce at the JLA headquarters, as it was the only place where they were guaranteed to run into each other, but Bruce had always reacted similarly, brushing him off to focus on their hero work instead. Bruce’s duality was throwing poor Clark so far he couldn’t figure out where they stood or even where to begin to figure it out. Clark slumped down and put his head on his arms. Damn, whatever this stuff Kara gave him was, it worked fast. He thought about texting Lois to help him work over it (again), but he had already complained to her earlier today, and twice more earlier this week. Lois was his best friend and the strongest person he knew, but even she could only put up with so much, so Clark decided against it. The alcohol definitely was not helping his mental state. Clearly, he wasn’t going to arrive at any answers tonight, so Clark resolved to put it off until tomorrow. There was a Justice League meeting tomorrow morning, and Bruce would likely be spending the afternoon at headquarters getting detective work done, which would be the perfect time to get him alone. Clark would talk to Bruce tomorrow. For now, he grabbed his laptop and pulled up Netflix to try and distract from his nerves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Come follow me on Tumblr @rageagainstthedyingofthestars. I'm always down for a conversation about superheros!


	2. Into The Closet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for Bruce's perspective

All in all, Bruce thinks the meeting went well, or at least as well as it ever does. It had just been a monthly catch up, nothing major to discuss. Clark had spent the entire meeting catching Bruce’s eye, then quickly looking away. Honestly, it was a good thing the man was cute otherwise Bruce would be giving him a lecture on subtlety in their work environment. Though, he does amend that he hasn’t been much better, thinking back to that interview from a week ago. Maybe they both needed to check their behavior. That, however, was a problem for later, as he needed to go use the JLA computer to check over the profiles of a few new criminals in Gotham. As Bruce was getting ready to leave, Clark came over and stopped him. 

“Hey, Batman, do you think I could talk to you for a second?”

“Of course, Superman.” Bruce smiled internally. He should have known this was coming with all the glances from before. Clark turned around, and they both walked out of the meeting room and down the hall. Clark was nervously playing with the edge of his cape and, seemingly unknowingly, had started floating an inch above the floor instead of walking. He really was adorable when he got flustered. Suddenly, Clark stopped and turned to him.

“So, uh, Bruce—” Clark started, not quite looking Bruce in the eye.

“Shh, not yet.” Clark, clearly not expecting to be interrupted, stayed silent and stared at Bruce, who looked up and down the hallway to make sure no one was watching, then grabbed Clark’s hand and dragged him into the broom closet Clark had so helpfully stopped them by.

“Bruce, what—” This time Clark was shut up by Bruce pushing him up against the wall and kissing him soundly. Clark stayed frozen for a few seconds, evidently not expecting Bruce to take the lead, but he quickly softened and returned the kisses. Bruce’s hands came up to rest on Clark’s hips, while Clark’s came around to cup the back of Bruce’s head and snake around his waist. They stayed this way for a few minutes, before Bruce reluctantly broke away. 

“We should go before the others start to get suspicious, and I really do need to get work done.” With one last, quick kiss, Bruce readjusted his cape and left to go finish his work for the afternoon. Bruce walked in to the computer room only to find Green Arrow, who apparently had been put on security camera duty. Ollie had a huge smile on his face and as Bruce passed him, he held up his hand for a high five. 

“So you and Superman, who’d have thought? Congrats, though, you two are cute together.”

Bruce glared. “Ollie, if you mention this to anyone else, I will personally make your life a living nightmare.” Green Arrow froze at that. Bruce sighed a little, and conceded a light high five to the nosy hero. “But thank you.”

***

What the fuck was that?

Clark stood dumbfounded in the broom closet, staring straight ahead at where Bruce had been just a few minutes ago. He had finally gotten Bruce on his own, had almost worked up the courage to actually talk to him, and the next thing Clark knew, he was pressed up against the wall of a broom closet, making out with Batman. Then, just as quickly, Bruce was gone again. So where did that leave him?

Eventually, Clark did leave the closet, went back to his apartment, and immediately texted Lois, ‘I hope your free tonight.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Come follow me on Tumblr @rageagainstthedyingofthestars. I'm always down to talk about superheroes!


	3. The Trouble with Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Clark just can't catch a break

Clark had foregone the glass this time, just drinking straight from the bottle while sitting in the middle of his living room. “And then he kissed me! And he didn’t stop kissing me, so I kissed him back. And then he just left! He didn’t even say goodbye, just something about work, then he ran off! What am I supposed to do Lois? What does it mean?”

Lois sat on the couch and poured herself a glass of wine from the bottle she brought for herself. “I don’t know, hon, but at least he does seem to actually like you. He didn’t ignore you this time.”

Clark flopped onto his back. “He may as well have with all the answers I got. So, yes, we have cleared up that he likes me. But is this like a one-time thing? Am I another one of his flings? I don’t want to be a fling, Lois!”

“You have his phone number, right? Why don’t you call him? He can’t drag you into a broom closet that way.”

“You want me to call my… I don’t even know what to call him. You want me to call him while drunk?” Clark attempted to sit up, and failed, laying back down.

“I meant tomorrow, genius. Right now, you’re not doing yourself any favors, so I say we get some food.” Lois got up and grabbed the takeout menus Clark kept stuck on his fridge. “Chinese or pizza?”

***

Lois had just sat down at her desk, coffee and aspirin in hand to fight her hangover (she and Clark had both drunk a bit too much for a Sunday night), ready to start the day, when her office door burst open. 

“Lois! There’s been a development!”

“I hope you mean on our story, Smallville.”

“…It’s Bruce again.”

“You definitely didn’t call him last night, what could possibly be so important—”

“He sent flowers!” Clark shoved a rather lovely bouquet of daffodils and sweet peas at her. Oddly, Clark looked more alarmed than touched.

“They’re lovely, but why—”

“There’s a note, too.” He then pulled a small notecard out of his pocket and shoved this at Lois as well. The front had the name and phone number for the florist down the street, while the other side had “call me when you get home. -bruce.” printed on the reverse in gold script. All lowercase, two periods. Ok, maybe Clark did have a good reason for worry. No reason to tell him that, though. He was freaked out enough.

“Calm down, Smallville, I’m sure there’s a completely harmless explanation—”

“Yeah, he’s mad at me!”

“Clark—”

“Why else would he not bother to capitalize the note? And two periods? Plus, he didn’t send roses, he sent daffodils! They’re not romantic flowers, they’re just common! Why would a billionaire send me flowers from a garden?” Clark had started to pace around Lois’s office, getting more and more frustrated with each loop. Lois walked over to the distraught man and grabbed him by the shoulders and stared him in the eye.

“Clark, you are reading way to far into this.”

“He won’t talk to me, Lois! What else am I supposed to do?” Lois shook him a bit.

“Clark, stop. He clearly wants to talk to you, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked you to call. You will get this sorted out after work, for now, just focus on your assignments.”

Clark deflated a bit. “Ok. Ok, I’ll try. Thanks, Lois.”

“No problem, Smallville. But you owe me big time. Now go, let me drink my coffee in peace.” Lois gave Clark a hug, then sat back down at her desk, switching her focus back to her computer.

“You’re the best!” Clark called as he left her office. Lois shook her head. They were idiots, the both of them, but if that Bruce Wayne hurt Clark, she was going to rip him a new one, not only because if he broke Clark’s heart, she wouldn’t have a moments peace for the next week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Come follow me on Tumblr @rageagainstthedyingofthestars. I'm always down to talk about superheroes!


	4. Difficult Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the boys to finally talk it out

Bruce pushed his chair back from his desk and stretched. It was finally lunch time and Bruce was sick of staring at statistics for Wayne Enterprises. He got up and went over to his open office window, trying to decide on a place to order lunch from and whether or not Clark had liked the flowers he had sent. He hoped he wasn’t being to forward, but Bruce had wanted to do something for Clark that wouldn’t disrupt his work day, since he knew Clark really cared about his job. He had impulse searched for a florist that morning and just happened to find one just down the road from the Planet. His had been the first order of the day, so the bouquet was guaranteed to have gotten to Clark’s office before he did. Bruce didn’t think Clark would be the kind to like roses, so he tried to pick flowers that were a bit more understated. He had always liked daffodils, as there were a great many that grew on the manor’s grounds and the sweet peas seemed to go well with them. Bruce smiled, he hadn’t felt this happy or this sure about a relationship in a long time. Well, really, he couldn’t remember being this happy about a relationship ever. He was a bit scared, but Clark seemed to be taking it at Bruce’s pace, which made him a lot more comfortable about putting himself out there. 

Bruce’s cell phone rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. He groaned, expecting another business call, but was pleasantly surprised to see Clark’s name pop up instead.  
“Hi, Cla—”

“Ok, look, I don’t know what I did, but please, for the love of Rao, tell me so I can fix it or figure out whatever it is you’re up to, because I can’t figure it out myself and I know Lois said I should wait until after work but it’s eating me up and—”

“Woah, Clark, slow down. What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong! You sent me flowers!” Now Bruce was even more confused. Did Clark not like flowers? Was sending flowers an insult on Krypton? Was Clark allergic? Could Kryptonians even be allergic to things? Bruce was silently making a list of things to look up the next time he could get to the JLA computer.

“I just- I missed you? I thought it would be a nice gesture and I didn’t want to disturb you at work?”

“I—wait what?”

“Why would I want to distract my boyfriend at work?”

“…I’m sorry, your what now?”

“…My boyfriend? I thought we were dating?” Bruce was thoroughly confused now.

“How?” Bruce’s heart began to sink. Of course he had read everything wrong.

“It’s just, we were flirting for months, and then we kissed, and I don’t know, I just thought—but I’m sorry—”

“No, no I’m not mad, I was just wondering when you were going to tell me?” Bruce’s heart lifted again. “Who told you this was how relationships work?” Clark chuckled, sounding relieved.

“Believe it or not, this is actually going better than most of my previous relationships.” That was met with silence. Ok, maybe that had been the wrong thing to say. Bruce really hopes he didn’t upset Clark again. “You still—” Bruce is interrupted by Clark appearing out of nowhere, likely flying in the open window, and sweeping him up into a kiss.

“I promise to take care of you. You just have to talk to me about important things, like whether or not we’re dating.” That earned a chuckle from Bruce, still caught up in Clark’s arms. “Now, tell me who hurt you, I have a few people to take care of.”

Bruce just rolled his eyes and pulled Clark back into another kiss. This time, it would go well. He was going to make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Come follow me on Tumblr @rageagainstthedyingofthestars. I'm always down for a conversation about superheros!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Come follow me on Tumblr @rageagainstthedyingofthestars. I'm always down for a conversation about superheros!


End file.
